Protective masks



United States Patent [72] Inventor Ronald Stahl Trelleborg, Sweden [21] Appl. No. 730,058 [22] Filed May 17,1968 [45] Patented Dec. 29, 1970 [73] Assignee Trelleborgs Gummifabriks Aktiebolag, Trelleborg, Sweden [54] PROTECTIVE MASKS 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 128/141, 128/ 142.6 [51] Int. Cl A61f13/00 [50] Field ofSearch 128/142, 1 142.2, 142.5, 142.6, 141

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 699,875 5/1902 Johnston 229/69 753,170 2/1904 Short 229/72 Primary Examiner-Adele M. Eager Attorney-Beveridge & DeGrandi ABSTRACT: A protective mask having a face piece arranged for self-drainage of phlegm and condensation water without increasing the noxious space of the mask, the self-drainage being obtained by mounting the exhaling valve and its fastening at the lowermost point of the mask beneath the wearers chin with the outlet of the exhaling valve directed away from the wearers throat and by arranging a sealing flap extending from the fastening for the exhaling valve and engaging the front of the wearers throat.

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SHEET 2 0F 4 INVENTORI "RONALD-STAHL PATENTEU UEEZQIEB 3 550 5 SHEET L 02 4 FIGS INVENTOR: RONALD 51144 L PROTECTIVE MASKS This invention relates to a protective mask with a facepiece made of natural or synthetic rubber and having fastenings for a protective filter, inhaling and exhaling valves and possibly also a speaking diaphragm, the exhaling valve being disposed at the lower most point of the mask beneath the wearers chin.

In conventional protective masks there is no possibility of discharging phlegm and condensation water without increasing the so-called noxious space" of the mask. However, it is desirable that there are facilities for draining phlegm and condensation water. v

The present invention has for its object to make it possible in a simple and efficient manner to drain phlegm and condensation water. This object is realized in accordance with the invention inthat the fastening for exhaling valve merges into a sealing flap engaging the front of the wearers chin and extending obliquely downwardly toward the wearers throat and that the outlet of the exhaling valve is directed away from the wearers throat.

An embodiment of the invention will be more fully described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the protective mask;

H6. 2 is a front view of the mask;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are sections on lines lll-lll, IV-lV and V-V, respectively, in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a section on line Vl-Vl in FIG. 1. The protective mask according tothe invention has a facepiece 10 made of .natural or synthetic rubber. In the embodiment illustrated the facepiece has an eye piece or lens 11 which is retained by means of a clamping ring 15 in said fastening 13. An inhaling valve 16 is provided inwardly of the protective filter 14, and a space 17 is located inwardly of the valve 16, two passages 18 leading from said space 17 in an upward direction towards the lens 11. The passages 18 open at the lower edge of the lens so that all air inhaled has to flow in an upward direction over the inner side of the lens. Disposed at the lower edge of the lens is a baffle 19 which extends in an inward direction toward the wearers face and which may be adapted to bear against the root of 'the wearers nose. The baffle 19 seryes to prevent the exhaled air from flowing in an upward direction and over the lens. The baffle 19 should suitably be formed as a reinforcement of the inner walls of the passages 18. v i

. The facepiece 10 also has a fastening 20 for .an exhaling valve 21 which comprises a seat 22, a valve disc 23 and a protective element 24 with an outlet 25. The seat 22 of the exhaling valve is retained in the fastening 20 by a clamping ring 26. The exhaling valve is located at the lowermost point beneath the wearers chin and is arranged for self-drainage. The selfdrainage is attained in that the fastening 20 of the exhaling valve extends obliquely downwardly towardthe wearer's ing 20 of the exhaling valve 21 merges into a sealing flap 27 which engages the front of the wearers chin.

To provide a reliable seal at the margin of the facepiece 10 said piece has a sealing lip 28 which extends all around said margin and projects inwardly from said margin to bear snugly and sealingly against the wearers face at the use of the mask. The facepiece 10 has also attached to it a set of straps 29, which is secured with the aid of buckles 30 and rivets 31 to the margin of the facepiece inside the sealing lip 28.

in the illustrated embodiment of the protective mask the filter 14 is secured in the fastening 13. lt is possible, however, to secure a seat for the filter in said fastening 13 with the aid of the clamping ring 15. In the latter case the seat has a single thread or a double thread to permit screwing it into the filter, and carries the inhaling valve 16.

The facepiece of the mask can also be provided with a speaking diaphragm. In the embodiment illustrated the speaking diaphragm can be arranged at the side of the mask beneath the level of the baffle 19. Alternatively, the speaking diaphragm can be mounted at the front of the mask, while the protective filter is disposed at the side of the mask. It is imperative, however, that the exhalingvalve is mounted at the lowermost point of the mask beneath-the wearers chin, which implies that the mask will be self-draining and that the volume of the so-called noxious space will be kept as low as possible.

lclaim:

l. A protective mask having a facepiece made of a resilient material and adapted to cover substantially the entire face of a wearer, a lens mounted in the facepiece to provide visibility to the wearer, a protective air filter in communication with said facepiece below said lens, an inhaling valve mounted in the it passes through said filter on its way into said mask, a sealing flap extending from a bottom portion of said mask and engaging the front of the wearers chin, a drainage passage located in a bottom portion of said mask immediately before said sealing flap, an exhaling valvemounted in said drainage passage, and a drainage outlet mounted in communication with said exhaling valve, said drainage outlet having a terminal portion positioned to extend directly away from the wearers body to direct drainage away from the wearers body.

2. A protective mask as defined in claim 1 having an air filter fastening mounted immediately below said lens and extending at an obtuse angle relative to said lens, a tubular air filter removably received within said air filter fastening, and an inhaling valve mounted within said air filter fastening.

3, A protective mask as defined in claim 2 having two air passages leading from said inhaling valve in an upward direction towards said lens and ending at the lower edge of said lens.

4. A protective mask as defined in-claim 3 having two parallel air passages, said air passages becoming wider as they move in an upward direction toward the lens, said passages together becoming substantially as wide as said lens at the upper terminus of said passages.

5. A protective mask as defined in claim 2 wherein said terminal portion of said drainage outlet is generally parallel to said air filter fastening.

6. A protective mask as defined in claim 5 wherein said drainage passage is positionedto extend downwardly and inwardly toward the wearer's neck, and said terminal portion of said drainage outlet extends generally at right angles relative to said drainage passage. 

